Pressure Makes Diamonds
by thatshockeybaby
Summary: Set after the 2nd Wizard War, Miss Hermione Granger is invited to repeat her 7th year at Hogwarts. Accompanied by the usual crew, she encounters old enemies, makes new friends, and falls in lust with the most unexpected people. May change the rating to M.


"Pain. It comes in all forms. The small twinge, a bit of soreness, the random pain that we live in everyday. Then there is the kind of pain so great that it blocks out everything else, makes the rest of your world fade away until all way can think about is how much we hurt, how we manage our pain is up to us. We anaesthetize, ride it out, embrace it, ignore it, and for some of the the best way to manage pain is to just push through it."

Chapter 1

Had anyone been up at the ungodly hour of six-something-o'clock in the morning, they would have stopped what they were doing, man or woman, and observed, in admiration or jealousy, the lithe yet feminine figure speeding through Westminster Boulevard. Alas, it was much too early for any sane person to be rising, which was why Hermione Granger had picked this time of the day to go on her daily run.

With no earbuds plugging her ears, she focused on the rhythmic pounding of her Nikes on the pavement matching to the steady pump of her heart.

She had welcomed any hobby with open arms just after the war, desperate to distract herself of any lingering grotesque memories - cooking, pottery, canoeing, drawing - and realized that any physical exerting activity had allowed her to face the past and make peace with it, rather than stuffing it in a deep dark place that would sooner or later erupt in a not-so-pretty confrontation. To her, either it be running, yoga, swimming, kickboxing, whatever Hermione could get her hands on, exercise was her release of physical and mental stress.

In the first few weeks, she pretended it was Bellatrix or Fenrir she was delivering the unforgiving kicks and punches, instead of the punch bag. She ran as if Snatchers were still right on her tail, beating down the pavement with her heavy, punishing strides. Sometimes she would imagine hexes being thrown her way, almost feeling the biting sting of curses on her skin, so much like in the forest, and it would spur her to push and push her pace until she'd collapse on the trail, tears mingling with dirt all the while ignoring the burning sensation that ignited her body.

Sometimes she ran ten kilometers; most of the time she was too consumed in her thoughts to realize she had completed a half-marathon and then some.

But always in the end, she'd pick herself up, brush the dirt off, bandage any wounds, and she'd start all over again the next morning.

The heady scent of the ocean grew stronger as she rounded the corner onto Hans Street decreasing her pace to a cool down walk back to her parents' house in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. This part of the world really was like no other place she had encountered.

When the war ended and respective mourning for the loss of friends and family were through Hermione set out on her own to recover her parents in the Land of Oz. Despite their protests, she had reassured Harry and the Weasleys that she would be careful. Of course they wouldn't be the Weasleys if Ron, ever the human garbage disposal, had not asked her to bring back Lamingtons and Tim Tams and Ginny, ever the dreamer, hadn't given her a small empty vial with clear instructions to fill it with sand from the Gold Coast, which coincidentally was now Hermione's parents' permanent backyard.

Upon arriving and breaking the memory-erasing spell, Hermione and her parents spent some time catching up, taking their daughter out around Sydney, where she had based them originally. She immediately fell in love with the iconic feature of Australia and had demanded her parents take her to the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and the great Taronga Zoo. She was even tempted to refuse McGonagall's invitation to repeat her 7th year at Hogwarts along with her classmates, and stay in Aussie. Which was why she was a bit skeptical when her parents announced to her that they were relocating to the Gold Coast, having fallen in love with the number one holiday destination. Hermione remembered attempting to convince her parents that Sydney was the place to be and that the Gold Coast was nothing but a spring break destination and an enticing name.

"Consider this: you live right on the beach, where it's littered with party people twenty-four seven. Are you ready to give up your freedom of peace and quiet? Dad, you know how irritating it is to not be able to concentrate on a book." Hermione reasoned.

"Darling, the city and us were just not mea-"

"And Mum! Think of the well being of your precious garden! Do you really want to risk it being the victim of empty beer cans and used condoms?"

She grimaced at the thought but she was getting desperate so she pulled out the big guns and attempted to appeal to the things her parents held most dear to them, aside from Hermione herself.

In the end, they laughed and proceeded to contact a real estate agent and began the process of moving. And Hermione had not regretted their decision since.

They were able to find a spacious rambler, not even two minutes walk from the beach, with a large property around it for privacy. The slightly slower pace of life was a nice welcome and definitely appealed to the Grangers. After much pleading, Hermione relented and agreed to stay for the next four months until she would be back to Hogwarts to finish her last year. Of course, having the glittering azure water and constant sunshine at her disposal was not so bad.

Hermione spotted her parents' house and cut through the garden to the backyard where she followed a sandy path that led to the ocean, all the while toeing of her trainers and stripping down to her sports bra and panties. She wasn't too concerned of her lack of attire; after all, it was a beach and many of the occupants were not shy with disregarding any piece of clothing.

She waded into the clear sea and dove under the surface, admiring the various types of coral and fish. The pressure increased as she swam deeper into the water but still, the water remained a cheerful crystal clear blue. Finally what seemed like ten minutes, Hermione floated up to the surface and situated herself so that she was floating on her, the cool, refreshing water surrounding while the intense sun enveloped her in its warm embrace.

Closing her eyes, Hermione created a list in her head of the last minute things she had to do until she left for London later that days.

Trunks shipped early.

Check.

Souvenirs.

Check.

Hair appointment.

Check.

She smiled to herself, knowing that everything was set in motion for her to make her departure. Her mind wandered off to the series of letters and pamphlets she had received from the school last week. It was all business, no doubt a photocopy of what every other returning student had received. It stated that a large portion of her classmates from all Houses were returning to finish their incompleted 7th year, along with the mentions of this years Head Boy and Head Girl and Prefects, news of the successful restoration of their beloved school, Quidditch tryout brochures, club meetings, etcetera.

Their Headmistress McGonagall had set up a new curriculum for those who were a few years older than Hermione, as many of them had been pulled out due to the previous uprising war. Hogwarts now offered an extended brand of 8th and 9th year, similar to Muggle schooling where high schoolers can participate in Advanced Placement studies or college-level classes.

To Hermione's delight, this new system was not limited to just those older than her but also to those who were more advanced than their year. This opportunity would allow her to accelerate in her plans and also explore some new fields of career that might potentially interest her and her fellow classmates.

What surprised her the most from the letters were the names listed of well-known Slytherins. Hermione was for sure that only one or two of the names would be returning, but to her shock, all seemed to be present.

Adrian Pucey, 9th Year, Head Boy, Slytherin Quidditch Chaser. *Resident womanizer*

Marcus Flint, 9th Year, Slytherin Quidditch Captain. *Stereotypical jock oozing masculinity*

Daphne Greengrass, 9th Year. *Queen of Vanity and Drama*

Theodore Nott, 8th Year, Slytherin Quidditch Keeper. *Flirtatious mystery boy*

Draco Malfoy, 7th Year, Slytherin Quidditch Seeker. *Irritating yet sexy git*

Pansy Parkinson, 7th Year. *Fashionista*

Blaise Zabini, 7th Year, Slytherin Quidditch Chaser. *Tall, dark, and handsome*

Astoria Greengrass, 6th Year. *Attention-seeking brat*

Hermione giggled to herself as she remembered writing down her own little side notes along their names. Of course, there were much more Slytherins than that but those were the ones who stood out to her the most. All animosity for all Slytherin boys listed plus Pansy Parkinson and then some had dissipated throughout the school and the Wizarding World, after they had switch sides during Hermione's 5th year. Most of the Pureblood families even helped with hunting down the Horcruxes and aiding in destroying them. In the end, Voldemort had no chance in standing against some of the most powerful witches and wizards and was completely destroyed one hour into the final battle.

Most, if not all, Slytherin students returning were reformed and allied to the Light Side. Only a known few were brave enough to come back, even though their families were not yet completely proven of innocence. Such as those, was the Greengrass family. Their father claimed to be under the Imperius Curse.

It wasn't that their family was completely trustworthy that had bothered Hermione, it was the way the two sisters acted in school. They were cruel, vain, fake, attention-seeking bints that deemed themselves as Queen and Princess of Slytherin. Hermione had disliked them at the beginning but gave no more thought to them as she saw them as little or no threat to her and her friends.

Hermione swam back to the shore and gathered up her discarded running gear before walking back to the house. Judging by the empty garage and driveway, her parents were still at work and wouldn't be back until she would be ready to take the International Floo back the London.

She took a quick shower, using the last of her favorite summer shampoo and conditioner, smelling of a refreshing peppermint. Hermione lathered up with a softening showering gel containing almond oil and bits of sugar in it, as it exfoliated and moisturized her light golden skin, which no doubt had been exposed to the strong sunrays everyday for the past four months. She knew she would be back to the dreary weather of London the coming autumn so she had wasted no time indoors and got to soaking as much Vitamin D as she could handle.

Her mind wandered back to the Slytherin boys. They really all were very, very attractive in their own way. She had always thought so. The past few years, she was oh so meek and blushed and stuttered every damn time their eyes landed on her. They had merely smirked and went back to their own business. The most encounter she had to one of them was punching Draco and that had felt wonderful. It didn't help that she matured later than all the girls her age and by the time she had felt like she was growing into herself, the threat of the war was beginning and nobody, including herself, had time to pause and take notice of the budding changes that her body was going through.

She toweled off and sauntered in her birthday suit to her bedroom and stood in front of her silver gilded floor-length mirror. Taking a selfish moment for herself, she admired her slender 5'4" frame. She was now thankful for the wonderful things that running, yoga, and kickboxing did to her body, as she was also toned but not overly so. Her hair had lost its poofiness and it hung in glossy waves just to her breasts, which speaking off were looking fantastically perky and proud in their C cup size. She ran her hands light down over her stomach and past her mound, pausing to reach for her wand and casting a spell to painlessly rid herself of any unwanted body hair.

Hermione heard the faint sound of the front door opening and closing and her parents calling for her. A quick glance at the clock showed that it was already nearing 9:30 AM.

"Be right down!" She hollered out and began dressing.

It would most likely still be warm back in Britain so she donned on tight white jeans and a breezy silk racer back cami in a navy blue. To be safe, as it was London after all, she stuffed her cognac-colored leather jacket in her Michael Kors tote, along with her school uniform and robes and some other essentials.

She left her hair to dry into her natural waves, grabbed her tote bag, stuffed her feet into leopard print flats and prepared herself for a flurry of hugs and kisses and tears as she was headed into a year full of unknown surprises ready to greet her like an old friend.


End file.
